Ernesto R. Gantman Capitalism, Social Privilege and Managerial Ideologies
Aldershot: Ashgate. 2005 ISBN: 0 7546 4186 4 Hardcover, $99.95/£50.00 https://www.ashgate.com/shopping/title.asp?key1=&key2=&orig=results&isbn=0%2 07546%204186%204
This book analyzes the evolution of administrative thought from the nineteenth century to the present, considering it as ideological discourse. Rather than merely being a succession of fads, Gantman shows how each successive discourse about the organization of work serves to legitimate social interests.
The book's compelling conclusion is that instead of a tendency towards increasing theoretical refinement, what is more evident is a trend towards fictionalization, which ends in the contemporary paradigm of flatter, more participative and democratic organizational forms.
Students and scholars interested in organization theory, management history, the sociology of work or critical management will gain many new insights from this historical reconstruction of the evolution of management thought.
Contents
Introduction: ideology and administrative thought; Utopian socialism as administrative ideology; Procapitalist managerial ideologies of the Nineteenth Century in England and the United States; Managerial ideologies and the legitimation of liberal capitalism; Scientific management; The human relations ideology; Systemic rationalism; The legitimating contribution of managerial ideologies to organized capitalism; The new paradigm of management; The world of work under disorganized capitalism; The significance and legitimating contribution of the new paradigm of management; Managerial ideologies in historical perspective; Conclusion: management today; References; Index.
Reviews
'This book provides a much needed critical history of two centuries of thinking about administration and management. Gantman shows that most of this thought is better described as ideology rather than science in that it generally serves the interests of ruling groups. A future of less hierarchical and more responsible organizations is well served by understanding the past, and hence the limits and possibilities of the present.' Dr Martin Parker, University of Leicester, UK
'This book is a 'must read' for those who study organizations, management and administration. It employs a broad historical canvas to offer a stimulating account of administrative thought's ideological functioning since the nineteenth century. In so doing, the book makes a significant scholarly contribution to our understanding of the evolving nature of capitalism and capitalist legitimation. It succeeds admirably in demystifying the mystifying force of managerial ideologies.' Anshuman Prasad, Professor of Management, University of New Haven, USA
About the Author/Editor
Dr Ernesto R. Gantman is Adjunct Professor in the Facultad de Ciencias Económicas at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and also a Professor in the Escuela de Economía y Negocios Internacionales at the Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina.
Further Information
Illustrations: Includes 1 b&w illustration
Publication Date: 01/2005 Number of Pages: 194 pages Binding: Hardback Binding Options: Available in Hardback only Book Size: 234 x 156 mm British Library Reference: 658'.001 Library of Congress Reference: 2004023403
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